Awkward Politics: Technologies of Popfeminist Activism by Carrie Smith-Prei and Maria Stehle (review)

In Awkward Politics, Carrie Smith-Prei and Maria Stehle argue that a methodology that utilizes the frame of awkwardness is essential to unpacking the relevance and affect of pop-feminist occurrences in the era of neo-liberalism. These occurrences – performances, protests, and circulating images – are political and occur in both the digital and corporeal world. While Awkward Politics makes connections to feminism in North America, its focus is on feminism in Germany. The authors analyse performers and protestors who have impacted the German-speaking world, including Pussy Riot, Femen, Barbie Dreamhouse protestors, Lady Bitch Ray, Charlotte Roche, and Helene Hegemann.

Chapter one discusses the politics of collaboration. While the book has two authors, the project is collaboratively written, rejecting the model of the single-authored book that the academy so often expects. Refusing the tendency to categorize feminist work in binary terms as either effective or not, Stehle and Smith-Prei play around with a quote from Donna Haraway to "stay with the trouble." A treasure in this chapter is the authors' discussion of their participation in feminist subcultures as teenagers. This discussion reveals not only an intimate side of the authors' childhood but also their history of engagement with pop-feminism and Riot Grrrl culture.

In chapter two, the authors contextualize feminism in Germany. Pop-feminism, according to the authors, exists outside the waves of current feminist studies. The authors make the distinction that pop-feminism in Germany is not only based in popular culture but also includes subculture. This chapter considers the awkwardness of a Femen protest at a mosque, developing a critical take on the group's performance of whiteness.

In chapter three, the authors adopt Sara Ahmed's concept of "willfulness" in their argument for awkwardness. Analysing the works of feminist, digital, and political performers Chicks on Speed and Lady Bitch Ray, Smith-Prei and Stehle reject reading Lady Bitch Ray and Chicks on Speed as provocative and, instead, name their performances as "disruptive awkwardness," arguing that they reject normative notions of female sexuality and arouse discomfort in the viewer by subverting societal norms.

Chapter four focuses on transnational activism and the loss of control over the images of topless protesters. The authors suggest Lady Bitch Ray is a counterpoint to those images, explaining that "[Lady Bitch Ray] does not critique, she appropriates; [she] does not provoke, she disturbs." Chapter five thematizes awkwardness in adolescent bodies, arguing that adolescent sexuality is transgressive. The authors use the protest surrounding the Barbie Dreamhouse in Berlin as a case study for considering awkwardness further; the authors examine the paradoxical protesters who created confusion by burning Barbie on a cross and wearing Barbie costumes during their protest. The authors' analysis of the protest is thought-provoking and provides a good example of feminist scholarship. Stehle and Smith-Prei end the chapter with an appeal to feminist academics to "stay with the trouble" – to not only embrace what is messy and awkward but also to make things messy and awkward – thus, presenting awkwardness as a counter-cultural choice. They argue that while awkwardness can sometimes be accidental, it is also a political feminist act that promotes joy; the awkward space is productive and playful or can produce its own critique.

Those interested in digital feminism, online protest, and feminism in Germany will find this book helpful. Compared to other books in the field, it has great breadth. Through their wide-ranging analyses, Smith-Prei and Stehle create their own theory of sorts: awkwardness. Contributing to affect theory and post-structuralism, the authors engage with neoliberalism and its "need for crisis." They offer a feminist citational practice, and their inclusion of theories such as "willfulness" (Ahmed) and "cruel optimism" (Berland) is especially valuable. To this point, they remind the reader that affect not only is a synonym for emotion but also involves power relations. By highlighting the absence of people of colour in protests or performances, or the at times "overwhelming...